Take It Easy
by Secca Irises
Summary: Sirius has a coffee craving, James might be getting a subscription to Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle, Remus is resigned to trouble and Peter gets too much sugar... All before they even reach Hogwarts. Get ready: the Marauders are about to arrive.
1. Chapter 1

**Take It Easy**

**By: **Secca Castillo

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**Chapter One: **Coffee and Muggle Piss

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Coffee. He needed coffee.

Sirius had never actually tasted the drink before, but for some reason his dreams the night before had been fully centered upon the mysterious muggle beverage, and thus he'd woken with a craving. It was pretty vague, as cravings go, but Sirius wasn't about to let that stop him.

The only question was how to obtain this object of desire.

…

It was the morning of September 1st, and Sirius Black was due to start Hogwarts. He'd been looking forward to the day for years, and was determined that it would live up to his rather high expectations.

Of course, his expectations didn't precisely line up with those of his mother's...

"SIRIUS!"

...who happened to be the reason he was up so early, stolen from dream coffee and, possibly, biscuits.

The young Black heir dragged himself out of bed with a groan, and stumbled in the general direction of the bathroom, yawning as he did so. As usual, it took some fumbling to locate his toothbrush and some more fumbling to find the toothpaste. Water on the brush, toothpaste on the brush, brush into the mouth, teeth scrubbed for at least two minutes, mentally mocking his mother as he disregarded the Toothcare Potion Kreacher laid out for his "use" every morning... Everyone had their morning rituals. Sirius preferred his to include as much muggle stuff as possible. It was the little things that made living at Black Manor slightly more bearable.

"SIRIUS, GET DOWN HERE!"

Finished with his teeth, he ran a quick brush through his messy black hair, blinked owlishly at his reflection, then ran back into his bedroom to get dressed.

There was only one robe in his wardrobe, and Sirius vaguely remembered it going with a belt. There wasn't one in sight, but he put it on anyway. Figuring that his mother's patience was probably thin enough as it was, Sirius made his way to the door, and through that, to the stairs, only to realize that he'd forgotten shoes. Had there been shoes in the wardrobe? He went back to check.

There were.

"SIRIUS, SO HELP ME-"

He decided that putting on his shoes could wait until after mother had been dealt with. She sounded rather angry.

The kitchen was in the basement, and that was four flights of stairs down. Sirius skipped down them all, landing finally in the kitchen with a loud THUD.

Seated at the rather large table in front of him was a skeletal woman, hair up in an impossible arrangement with silver snakes woven through the braids. Sirius rather thought she looked like Medusa. He briefly considered telling her that, before realizing that it was more than likely the comparison would be taken as a complement.

"Sirius! We leave in half an hour! I told you last night, I won't tolerate your laziness. I expect you to be ready, on time, and NOT skipping breakfast, this is your first day after all, a new start-"

She was clicking her 't's, and the vowels were so long that "last" became "laaaaaaaas'T". It wasn't even affected – the woman really was just talking like that naturally. Sirius found the entire business rather tedious.

"Do we have any coffee?" he interrupted.

The woman stopped her ignored exposition suddenly, mid "aaaaaaa".

"What?"

It almost became a multiple-syllable word, Sirius noted with distaste.

"Coffee. Made with coffee beans that have been roasted until they pop, then ground up so you can press boiling water through the grounds in order to make a really fantastic and bitter drink with lots and lots of caffeine in it."

She looked like someone had forced her to swallow a bottom-of-the-pot cuppa, with grounds and a fresh twist of lemon mixed in.

"Coffee." She twisted the word, pulling the "eeee" sound out. "Is that a muggle drink?"

She clicked the 'k' sound too. Ugh.

"No more so than water. Should we not drink water either? Did you know that the water we drink is the same water that's been around since the planet was created? So really, our water today is purified muggle piss-"

The woman was very still for a long moment. She looked stressed. Sirius giggled to himself in glee.

"Sirius. Son. Today is the beginning of a new life for you. Tonight, you will be given a chance to prove yourself to the Family – to your Father, your Grandfather, and to me. You will be given a chance to be a proper role model for your brother.

"I understand that I have been reticent, ignoring your education, allowing you to go off on your own. That is my fault. You are, however, of an age where you may make choices on your own. For everyone's sake – "

Sirius figured this meant he wasn't getting coffee, and stopped listening.

It was a strange childhood, growing up a Black. Sirius's parents had always been far too busy to take part in the day to day rearing of their children, leaving that instead to a steady stream of tutors that rarely lasted more than a few months. Sometimes, Regulus and Sirius managed to learn something worthwhile from the seemingly endless supply of Slytherin graduates, but more often they bribed them into allowing the brothers to go to Diagon Alley on "learning expeditions."

It was on one such "learning expedition" that Sirius had managed to obtain _The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle_ #74", a comic that went on to fuel an obsession with all things relating to the muggle world. Regulus didn't understand the obsession, but was willing enough to help Sirius smuggle home ensuing editions.

Sirius's mother didn't quite trust him on shopping trips, not since the Flobberworm Incident.

A few minutes later the droning stopped, and Sirius was allowed to finally sit down and eat after nodding a bunch and saying "Yes, Mother" during the pauses.

Breakfast was unsweetened porridge. He tried to eat a full serving, but couldn't bring himself to eat more than a few spoonfuls.

Then Sirius was back up in the bedroom, looking around rather blankly and wondering where the wand he had been sent to locate had gotten to. (It was under the bed.) A few minutes later, mother was yelling again, and he went back down three flights of stairs to the ground floor. There, Mother was waiting with a green and silver trunk, and a young boy fidgeting next to her.

"Regulus asked to join us. Your Father, of course, has gone to the Ministry already."

Sirius nodded, cautious, waiting to catch the boy's eye once Mother's eyes were elsewhere. They grinned a bit at each other, then schooled themselves into blankness once Mother's attention returned.

"Well then. Let's be going. I'll apparate us to the platform."

Dutifully, Sirius walked over to his mother and made sure he had a firm hold on the trunk – presumably the one Kretcher had packed for him the night before. Then he was being turned inside out, pushed and pulled all at once and unable to breathe –

And then they arrived. In front of him was the gleaming train, scarlet and black, a testament to Gryffindor engineering that, amazingly, the other Houses of Hogwarts had apparently allowed.

He reached out and ruffled Regulus's hair. "Don't worry, Reggie, you'll join me soon enough. Don't let Mother and Father get you down, alright?"

Regulus looked up at Sirius, eyes wide. He grinned, wider. "Hogwarts! I'll have to send you a toilet seat."

They had arrived at least two hours early. Mother had dragged Sirius and Reggie over to speak with her friends, and demanded that Sirius sit on the train with the children standing silently next to their parents, all of them wearing silver and green. Sirius naturally ignored her, slipping off after one last hair ruffle for "Reggie" with his trunk, intent on staking his claim on a compartment. They were all empty, so he chose the last compartment on the train and stuck the trunk there. Then, after a moment of consideration, he opened it and rummaged around until he located a piece of parchment and ink/quill combo.

A minute later, she'd left, and the compartment was sporting a sign that read "Reserved for the Marauders – All others will be hexed".

Back off of the train, Sirius realized that Mother was looking for him. Not wanting to be sucked back into that conversation, he slunk through the shadows toward the portal to Muggle London. Then, with one last glance towards Mother, he went through.

Across the way was a big sign proclaiming "Way Out – York Way". Sirius made a beeline towards it. Time to find some coffee!

He wandered down the street, ignoring the looks he was getting. Muggles didn't normally walk around in robes, even if they were only eleven, but Sirius honestly couldn't find the ability to care.

There- a café!_ Excellent._

He crossed the road, ignoring the traffic (and the honking) and went inside, marching straight up to the counter. Sirius' shoulders were about the height of the counter, but he didn't need to see the menu to order.

"I want a coffee. Black, yeah? And the biggest size you've got."

"…Are you lost, son?"

"Course not! I'm here to get a coffee."

The looming woman looked down at her, uncertain. "You're dressed pretty funky… You sure you're supposed to be here?"

Sirius looked back up at the woman, self assurance wrapped around him like a cloak. "My parents are hippie cultists – they're only in London to try and find this crystal shop, but I've run off because I want coffee and they're a pair of loonies anyway."

Someone behind her in line was snorting, but Sirius continued on, earnestly. "My uncle Alphie is trying to get custody, but that's taking AGES, and my brother Reggie doesn't want to leave anyway so he keeps on lying to the social workers but I'm sure Alphie will figure something out – anyway, all I have is this gold coin, it's real gold I promise but the Camp we live in doesn't believe in money and Mother melted down all her jewelry so this is the only thing I have to pay with-"

The barista looked completely bewildered. "I'm – uh- we can't – "

From behind him, someone passed over a five-pound note and said "I'll pay for his drink. A large black coffee, right, lad?" 

Sirius turned around, grinning, about to reply to the affirmative, when he came face to face with a boy his own age, gripping a copy of nothing other than _The Adventures of Martin Miggs._

Five minutes later found Sirius Black sitting with the Potter family at a corner table and happily drinking down his coffee. Mr. Potter had refused the galleon Sirius had tried to pay him back for the coffee with, saying that the image of Madam Black in tie-dye and daisy chains more than paid for the drink.

"Run off, have you then?" Mrs. Potter was asking, kindly, after it had been thoroughly established that all four were members of the Wizarding Community.

Sirius nodded, more than a little proud. "I wanted coffee this morning but of course Mother refused, because it's a muggle drink, so then I pointed out that muggles drink water, too, and that of course made her rather upset, and I never did get any coffee, so I ran off once we got to the platform. She wanted me to talk to a bunch of Slytherins, anyway. I've seen enough of them already, why would I want to spend more time with them NOW, when there are so many other people to meet?"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter shared a laughing look, and James, the boy with excellent taste in comics, asked, "How do you know about coffee, anyway? With your family, I mean?"

Sirius grinned. "I've been collecting _The Adventures of Martin Miggs_ for years, in secret of course."

"Wow, really? I've got the entire collection." James boasted, "I've got a whole shelf in the Library for them, and mom says that I might be able to get a real subscription for Christmas!" He waved the one he'd been reading at Sirius. "I got this one at Diagon Alley last weekend. It's the newest issue."

Sirius looked suitably impressed. A subscription was a big deal.

Over their heads, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were having a silent conversation, using Looks and slight gestures.

_He seems like a nice boy_, Mrs. Potter said with a smile and a flick of her eyes.

_One of the Blacks, though,_ reminded Mr. Potter, with a small frown.

_I was born a Black, or don't you remember?_ Said Mrs. Potter, with a quirk of her eyebrow and a teasing smile.

_Ah, right. And a lovely Black you were, too,_ backtracked Mr. Potter, with a shrug and a flirty smile.

_Were?_ Asked Mrs. Potter with a dangerous glint in her eye.

_Are_, replied Mr. Potter quickly, _Were and always Are._

_Quite right,_ said Mrs. Potter, _And don't you forget it._

_They're having a conversation over our heads, aren't they?_ Said James with a flick of his eyes and a conspiratorial grin.

_Yup,_ replied Sirius, with a simple nod.

_Ugh, not again,_ said James, with the long-suffering look of a child who has disgustingly cute parents.

The two soon-to-be-students shared a sigh, and went back to talking about Martin Miggs.

_Best leave them to it_, was their consensus.

By the time Mr. and Mrs. Potter decided that it was time to go to the platform, Sirius and James were best friends. Well, not best-best-friends, Sirius qualified to himself, they'd only known each other for about an hour, but still, James Potter was a pretty neat guy and had great taste in comics.

The station was a lot more crowded, now that there was only half an hour before the train left.

Mrs. Black was carefully concealing a furious, frantic expression, that didn't faze Sirius the slightest when it was fully unleashed upon his reappearance.

"Sirius Black," she said, drawing out the "aaa" and clicking the 'k' in Black, "where, in the name of Merlin, have you been?"

The 'ee' in "been" seemed to stretch on for an hour.

"Reading," replied Sirius glibly, "over there," and he waved off vaguely into some shadowy corner.

Mrs. Black clearly didn't believe it, but only a slight narrowing of her eyes betrayed her. "And your trunk?"

"Already stowed away."

"Well then. The boys have a compartment in the second box, and are expecting you. Why don't you join them?"

"Of course, Mother," said Sirius, lying through his teeth. "I'll go right there. Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye, son. Do the family proud."

"Shall do," said Sirius, lying again, and then he ran off to find James, who was going to meet him outside the last compartment, so they could start a Secret Club.

* * *

AN: Yes, this is a rewrite of Dream a Dream. I decided that idea was waaaay too ambitious, but wanted to keep the good bits about the Marauders. So, here we go!


	2. Chapter 2

**Take It Easy**

**By: **Secca Castillo

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**Chapter Two: Pranks and Secret Clubs**

* * *

James thought that the idea of having their own compartment on the Hogwarts Express was brilliant, and told Sirius as much.

"No, really! We can put up a sign and use it every time we're on the train! And put up posters or something, I've got a double of the Martin Miggs #58 Special Edition cover –"

Both of them were silent for a moment, visualizing just what they could do to make the compartment their own.

"We'll need other members, you know," said Sirius at last, "It's not much of a Secret Club if we've only got two members."

"I thought we decided we were called the Marauders?" It was deceptively phrased as a question.

"Well, yeah, but that was just – I mean, I thought of it, but –"

"It's an excellent name. We're sticking with it."

Sirius tried to pretend that he wasn't really rather pleased with this decision, and failed miserably, but James decided to not notice.

To cover the grin threatening to break out, Sirius scooted over to the window, pressing his nose against it to look at the people milling about the platform.

"Excellent! Mother's left. Let's go out and recruit us some members!"

As the pair left the compartment, James made sure that the sign was still firmly affixed to the door, and asked, "What's up with your mum, anyway? She's kinda-"

"Mother is totally nuts. Whole family is. All about "the supremacy of Purebloods" and "the importance of Breeding". That, and everyone has this creepy love affair with the Dark Arts. My Uncle Alphie is the only decent one in the entire group." Sirius looked away from James, so he couldn't see the other boy's expression. "They all expect me to get into Slytherin. Mother keeps on telling me how 'this is my chance to get straightened out'. She's going to KILL me."

Now on the platform, James looked at Sirius' back with concern. "Why?" For some reason, the tone of Sirius' voice didn't give him much confidence that his new friend meant "kill" in a metaphorical sense.

"I'm going to be a Gryffindor. No way I won't be. I'm always jumping into things without thinking and running off and being random – speaking of."

Suddenly, there was a cone of paper in Sirius' hand – he must have taken it from his trunk, James figured – and he was yelling through it at the top of his lungs, "Does anyone here go by the name of Harkness?"

People stopped and stared at the black-haired first year, but no one responded.

"Right then, Harkness is a no go," he muttered, then resumed yelling with "Anyone named Orion?"

James _looked_ at Sirius, who shrugged. "It's my middle name – wouldn't it be cool to have a friend who shared a name with you?"

Back up came the cone, and through it Sirius continued, "Elvendork? Anyone here named Elvendork?"

A blond boy wandered over out of the crowd, fourth or fifth year by James' guess, holding out his hand to shake. "Xenophilius Elvendork Lovegood, at your service. Ravenclaw."

Sirius took the offered hand and shook it wildly, proclaiming in response, "Sirius Orion Black, pleasure! You have a fantastic name, anyone ever told you that? I'm quite jealous."

"No, you're the first, isn't that strange? I'm rather proud of it myself."

Sirius turned back to James, who had been hovering by the two, not quite sure what exactly Sirius was doing, and hoping that he'd explain so that James could join in properly. "Take James," he said, "Totally boring name. James Potter. Rubbish. But he goes about acting as though he's got a name like 'Renaldo Darkmagic' or 'Quinn Pettigrew'. Very odd."

"Darkmagic?"

"Haven't you heard of the New Hampshire Darkmagics? They're a very old family."

"No, I haven't. What do they specialize in?"

"Herbology."

"Should have realized."

Behind James, as the 'conversation' continued, a pudgy boy with blonde hair tapped his shoulder lightly. The contact startled James out of trying to decide just how to reply to this besmirching of his name – he jumped around, nearly tripping on his shoes.

The new boy looked embarrassed, as if he wished he hadn't done anything at all.

"Yeah?" James asked.

"My name's Peter. Peter Pettigrew."

"…yeah?"

"Well, your friend, he was saying names, and he said Pettigrew, and –"

With abnormal speed (prompted by abnormal hearing), Sirius was next to James, pumping Peter's hand in greeting. "Sirius Orion Black, pleasure to meet you! Why, all we need is someone named Lupin, and we're set!"

Nearby, a boy with messy brown hair and his nose in a book looked up, jolted from whatever he had been reading. "What? Did someone-"

Sirius saw him, and grinned. "Fantastic!"

Although Xenophilius went back to his own friends, he had arranged for an interview so Sirius could tell him all about the Darkmagic clan so he could include them in an article he was writing for the school newspaper. James hadn't known there WAS a school newspaper. (There wasn't, yet.)

Peter, however, and the boy who had responded to the name "Lupin" – first name discovered to be Remus – had been captured and taken away to the compartment Sirius and James had already claimed, not that there had been much of a struggle. The new boys were both first years as well, and hadn't met anyone on their own.

James gave them the formal introduction, ignoring Remus' faint eyebrow quirk at the sign on the door. "You, my friends, have the privilege of being welcomed into the Marauders! Our goals: to be awesome, to be friends, to be secret – " he paused, then leaned over towards Sirius. "Do we have any other goals?"

"To pull pranks!" Sirius proclaimed. "To cause mayhem! To be mysteriously sexy after we've hit puberty!"

Remus was back to quirking that eyebrow, but Peter looked rather impressed, and it was his expression that encouraged James to continue. "To perform magic far beyond our years! To dazzle our classmates and professors! My fellow Marauders, I'm going to stop there because quite honestly I'm starting to sound ridiculous, so instead let me say that it is my _pleasure_ to welcome you into the Marauder's Compartment."

He slid the door open with a flourish, so that Peter and Remus could gaze inside for the first time.

They weren't exactly impressed. It looked like pretty much any other train compartment.

James and Sirius shared a look, then turned back to the other two and said in unison, "It's a work in progress."

The four first years fit easily into the compartment, and together Remus and Sirius were able to get the trunks up onto the rack. It wasn't easy, given their height, but Remus turned out to be rather strong so they managed without too much difficulty.

James hadn't really thought about what being in a Secret Club meant, but it apparently included a lot of Gobstones and coming up with a ridiculous list of prank ideas.

(#32: Make an entire meal taste like oranges. #11: Enchant all the clocks in the castle to run backwards.)

The group was cool, though. James had a bunch of friends, but most of them weren't due for Hogwarts for another year, and the few that were also on the Express for the first time had other groups to join. He hadn't worried, really, about finding people to spend time with, but most of his plans involved finding an established group and wowing them with how fantastic he was.

This was _so_ much better. (Not that he didn't have complete faith that any other groups, should the need arise, would still be wowed.)

There was only one problem. The whole point of a group was to be able to say "I'm a member of This Group! I'm Awesome!"

(He had gotten this view from his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Potter, while generally agreed as being "the best people", were also a part of Society, and often spoke of "This Charity" and "That Chess Club" at dinner parties. James had gotten the impression that this was the entire point of being part of a Group, and wasn't entirely wrong.)

"Guys," he finally said, after being unusually quiet through the most recent match of gobstones, "I don't think we should have a secret club."

He knew immediately that this was the wrong way to start. Peter looked as though he was about to cry (a small part of James noted this fact, and decided that "Instant Tears" was an extraordinarily useful skill and that they should all cultivate it), Remus was no longer smiling and his eyes read the horrible story of "yeah, this was probably too good to be true", and Sirius, James' new best friend, looked horribly confused.

"No, no, no! Not like that! I just don't think we should be secret! What good is – is – having the sign on the compartment door, say, if people don't know who the Marauders ARE? It's rubbish, that's what it is! We have to be a public group, just – really exclusive!"

Around him, expressions relaxed. Sirius was the first to respond.

"If we prank people, we wouldn't be able to leave a calling card, because everyone would know it was us. We'd get into loads of trouble. You okay with that?"

James thought of his mother, who had tried not to cry as she gave him one final hug, and his father, who had told him to "not get into any mischief", even as he had slipped his son the coveted Invisibility Cloak. Then he thought of them receiving word that he'd been expelled for turning everyone's hair bright blue.

"We'll just have to make sure the professors don't have enough proof to say it was us, and maybe we can pull other pranks, as a rival group, so they'll never know if it was us, or if we were being framed."

Sirius nodded, and James suddenly felt as if he had passed a very important test.

"What if the Marauders are us, and the pranks are sorta – separate?" Remus asked, and James immediately understood where he was going with the concept. "We could just – imply that we did them? Some people will always think we're trying to take credit for something other students did!"

"I can make up alibis for us!" Peter chimed in. "I always do, for my sister. She makes the WORST messes."

Sirius beamed, and James returned the look. Hogwarts wouldn't know what hit them.

_(#44: Charm everyone's hair bright blue.)_

When a woman came through the train selling candy, James decided that Hogwarts was pretty much the best school in the world. They were selling _candy_, and there wasn't anyone to tell him he couldn't eat as much as he wanted. Between Sirius and himself, they bought out everything the woman had. There weren't many chocolate frogs left, and the selection of licorice wands was a bit lacking, but that was to be expected, what with their compartment being the last one.

There was silence for a while, as the four stuffed their faces with the sugary treats. Peter looked particularly excited; as the consumption slowed down, he admitted, "Mum doesn't let me and my sister have much candy. Says it's bad for our teeth."

Seeing the way Peter was also bouncing in his seat, James suspected that teeth weren't the only reason.

"What's this sister, then?" Sirius asked. "She at Hogwarts?"

Peter blushed. "Actually – she's in high school. She's – well, I'm a muggle born. Mom and dad don't have magic, although I think my dad's brother might. But he's not very nice, so a professor came over to my house to explain it all! We kinda suspected, though, what with Uncle Te- with my uncle. I mean, that magic existed. Anyway, Sarah – she's way older than me, and took care of me for years because my mom and dad both work. She's _amazing_ – always helping me with math and stuff. She's interested in computers, says they're going to be HUGE. Sarah's going to be rich and famous someday, after she attends this school in America she's applying to –"

It hit him quite visibly that Peter wouldn't be seeing his sister for quite some time, and he quickly changed the subject before his voice choked up. "Sirius, you're _Pureblood_, aren't you?"

"The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black," Sirius confirmed. "The house is full of old family "heirlooms". Honestly, it's ridiculous, acting like some old statue is better because it's been sitting in the same spot in the Parlor for something like three hundred years. It's not special, it's just ugly! And really fragile… If it's an "antique", why not put it somewhere safer?"

"You broke it, didn't you?" asked Remus, knowingly.

"Yeah…" sighed Sirius. "Mother was furious. I was grounded for a _year_."

"I'm a Pureblood too," James told Peter. "Not every family is like the Blacks. We Potters are the _best_."

"Hah! Your mom is a Black, isn't she? I swear I've seen your family on the Tree."

"Yeah, but she married a Potter, didn't she? My mum's wicked-smart, she knew which family she wanted to join."

"I suppose love had nothing to do with it either?"

James turned to Remus with a ferocious look on his face, which melted into a grin when he saw that Remus was only teasing. "I wish it didn't! They're always looking at each other, and laughing with each other, and _kissing_."

All four shared a shudder. Parents shouldn't kiss. It went against _so _many rules.

"I'm what is called a half-blood, technically," Remus offered. "My dad is a wizard, but my mom is a muggle."

The others waited for Remus to continue, but apparently that was all he had to say on the matter. Sirius broke the tension by laughing.

"We've got one of each, see that? A Dark Pureblood, a Light Pureblood, a Half-blood and a Muggleborn! Isn't that excellent?"

Peter was frowning again, and Remus quickly explained. "A lot of the older Families are affiliated with a – "

He searched for the right word, until Sirius said the rest for him.

"Some are what you'd call "Good" and some are "Evil". The Potters are Good, and the Blacks are Evil. Well, except for something like one every other generation. James has a third uncle that's in Azkaban, and my great aunt is his mom. And you have me, of course. I'll probably end up disowned."

Sirius was remarkably unconcerned-sounding about this fact. The other three stared at him, stunned, until Remus finally found the courage to say, "How about a game of Exploding Snap, then?"

An alarm coming from James' watch alerted the group that they needed to change into their robes. ("Oi! You lot! Get dressed already!") Sirius was already dressed in wizard-wear, of course, but for some reason hadn't chosen Hogwarts robes that morning.

He shrugged when James asked him about it. "They were already packed."

The boys all changed in the compartment, ignoring such pathetic concerns as "privacy". They were boys, damn it!

(Peter had his back to the rest of the group, hiding his pink cheeks. He'd grown up with an older sister who liked to bring her friends over to the house without Peter realizing it. After the first "accident" he had taken to changing with the door firmly locked, and while he recognized that if the others didn't care, he shouldn't either – some part of him still felt embarrassed.)

(Remus changed because the others didn't care. He had planned on going to the bathroom, but didn't want to be the odd one out. He wanted to make friends, and doing odd things wasn't the way to get people to like you. He knew that from long experience.)

(James had been on a kiddie Quidditch league for years, and had been used to changing in a locker room since a young age.)

(Sirius was still preoccupied with envisioning #52: Fill the Great Hall with Chocolate Frogs.)

Before they knew it, the train was slowing down and conversation was forgotten as they stuffed parchment, playing cards, and books back into luggage. It was _astonishing_ how much of their possessions had managed to wander out of the trunks. Then they were pulling on their cloaks and trying to stay together as they flowed off the train, along with everyone else. It was dark out, and even James, who had been to Hogsmeade once, couldn't tell where they were. The train platform seemed to be the only illuminated location in sight.

Directly in front of them was a line of horseless carriages, a few already heading up a long, unlit road.

"There's a lake nearby," said Remus. "You think it's the Black Lake?"

James stared at Remus. "How'd you know that? I can't see a thing?"

"It's the smell in the air, can't you tell? Smells like a lake."

He sniffed, but all James could identify was the soot of the Express. He made a face, and decided to just trust Remus on that one.

Sirius was climbing one of the lamp posts, trying to see beyond the sea of students. He sat up on a ledge for a minute of two, enjoying the view. James looked on, envious. _He_ should have thought of that.

Hopping down, Sirius started off to the right of where they had exited the Express. "Off towards of the front of the train."

"What?"

"That's where all the other short kids are! Come on, let's go join our fellow first years."

Sirius turned out to be correct, and soon the four had a boat to themselves, setting off across the lake.

It was a bit scary, gliding across the lake without any visible means of propulsion, with only a small lantern lighting the way. James looked over to the closest boat, which had a group of girls in it huddled together, looking pathetic and cold. James snorted, and elbowed Sirius who laughed. Without saying anything, the newly created Marauders sat up a bit straighter, and started to talk a little bit louder.

Even they went silent when the lights of Hogwarts appeared as they rounded a corner, however. Everyone did.

The castle rose high in the distance, like something out of a fairy tale.

Through the mind of every first year ran a variation of the words James silently breathed.

_Fantastic._

* * *

**End Notes: **I've tried to make sure I stay very close to canon as far as James' family. His parents are wealthy, and I take that to mean the Potters are an Old Family, even though it isn't ever stated explicitly. I'm taking Dorea (1920-1977) as being James' Mom and Charlus Potter as being his dad, even though the timeline doesn't quite line up. (Reference: The Black Family tree, taken from the HP Lexicon.)

Dorea died at age 55, while Jo has said "James's parents were elderly, were getting on a little when he was born, which explains the only child, very pampered, had-him-late-in-life-so-he's-an-extra-treasure, as often happens, I think. They were old in wizarding terms, and they died." However, everyone in the Black family tree died rather early, for wizards, so I'm just going to pretend the dates aren't relevant, and just look at the names and family connections.


End file.
